Chapter 146: The Cicada and the Shell

The battle in the main hall was fierce yet brief. The reason so many perished was that both sides were elite among elites: they either held back completely or struck without mercy. If one failed to kill the opponent immediately, the next moment would be their own death.

Wei Ba, feigning death, captured Xiahou Hui alive, swiftly ending the fight in the hall. Yet the battle beneath the city walls was just beginning. Under Xiahou Hui’s orders, Xu Ran abandoned the outer city and resolutely defended the inner city. His troops were seasoned veterans, but their opponents were overwhelmingly formidable. Upon noticing unusual movements among the city’s defenders, Wei family soldiers knew their cover was blown. Without hesitation, they seized the city gates and beat the war drums.

At the sound of the drums, Wei family troops hidden outside the city rapidly charged toward Meiwufu. With the aid of comrades disguised as Tongguan’s garrison, they methodically seized strategic points, flooding into the inner city like spilled mercury.

Despite fighting desperately, Xu Ran could not hold back the growing number of Wei soldiers. He saw Xiahou Mao had already exited the north gate, but the shouts and cries inside the city had ceased, and Xiahou Hui's figure was nowhere to be seen. Reluctant to linger, Xu Ran led his men in a fighting retreat. At the north gate, he personally led infantry to block the gate, preventing the enemy from breaking through and buying time for Xiahou Mao’s escape.

Wei Yan, of course, was well aware of Meiwufu’s north gate. Lacking cavalry and wishing to avoid prematurely revealing his movements, he had positioned his ambush some five miles from the gate. As the gate swung wide open, Xiahou Mao, surrounded by over a hundred horsemen, sped out. Wei Yan was unable to intercept him, forced to watch helplessly as Xiahou Mao rode away.

This was the weakness of the Shu Han army: no cavalry. If the enemy could not be intercepted in time, one could only watch them slip away.

While Xiahou Mao fled under cavalry protection, Meiwufu inevitably fell into Wei Yan’s hands. In securing time for Xiahou Mao, Xu Ran lost his chance to escape and, like Xiahou Hui, became a prisoner.

With Xu Ran dealt with, Wei Yan strode into the main hall, barely glancing at the scattered corpses on the floor. He sized up Wei Ba and, seeing him cheerful and unscathed, asked, “Are you hurt?”

“Just some scratches, nothing serious,” Wei Ba smiled. “Father, you arrived swiftly.”

“Reinforcements are like fire; how could I not come quickly?” Wei Yan replied with a dismissive smile. “Are you familiar with the situation inside the fort?”

Wei Ba nodded and gave a rough account. After several maneuvers drawing the enemy away, only Xu Ran’s five hundred men and Xiahou Mao’s two hundred armored soldiers remained in Meiwufu. Now that Xiahou Mao had fled and Xu Ran was captured, no true Cao Wei forces remained inside. The auxiliary civilian laborers conscripted by Xiahou Mao to defend the city, frustrated by the disruption of their farming and resentful of Xiahou Mao, would not be loyal to Cao Wei. Moreover, some of these people were planted there on Wei Ba’s instructions, arranged by Zhao Su and others.

“I’ll leave you a thousand men to hold Meiwufu. I’ll go meet with Old General Zhao outside the valley.”

“Father, you’ve made a long forced march. You must be tired. Let me go instead.”

Wei Yan sneered, “Boy, I’m not so old that a few steps tire me out. If you want to seize power, you’ll have to wait a few more years.”

Wei Ba was embarrassed. This was not at all what he intended; he only wished to show filial piety, not to usurp command.

Seeing Wei Ba’s awkwardness, Wei Yan laughed heartily, flexing his arms as his armor clanked like laughter itself. “I’ve traveled a thousand miles from Hanzhong, just stretching my limbs in Xiaohuai, no fatigue at all. Since you know the situation inside Meiwufu, stay and hold the fort. Prepare a feast; I’ll go warm up, escort Old General Zhao out, and then come back to share a drink with you.”

Wei Ba nodded helplessly in agreement. Wei Yan left a thousand soldiers with him and led four thousand men toward the Baoxie Pass.

Wei Ba did not hesitate to arrange the defense of Meiwufu in the same main hall where Xiahou Mao had previously worked. During his time there, he had come to understand the layout thoroughly. Xiahou Mao’s hasty departure left behind maps and documents, some stained with blood and difficult to read.

No sooner had Wei Ba finished organizing defenses than Zhao Su arrived. Upon entering, he smiled broadly and clasped his hands in congratulation. “Congratulations! The Staff Officer truly is a master strategist, capturing such a fortified stronghold as Meiwufu in one stroke.”

Wei Ba, picking at dried blood beneath his nails, replied, “One stroke? You don’t know how close I came to death. I was lying just there, among a pile of corpses.”

Zhao Su’s expression changed, then he placed a hand on his chest and solemnly said, “That was truly dangerous. If anything had happened to you, Staff Officer, what would become of the realm?”

Wei Ba couldn’t help but snort. “If I died, the world wouldn’t lose much. The real loss would be to you, Registrar Zhao.”

Zhao Su laughed heartily. “Same difference. I’m part of this world too.” After joking, he returned to seriousness. “Staff Officer, how do you propose proceeding?”

Wei Ba pondered. “Our immediate priorities: one, capture Chang’an and secure Tongguan; two, complete the autumn harvest. Without Tongguan, we cannot block Cao Wei’s reinforcements. Without grain, we cannot hold the city. These two tasks are inseparable.”

Zhao Su nodded repeatedly. “So we harvest at once?”

“Exactly. We handle the fighting; you handle the grain. After harvest, we’ll need them to help defend the city. I’ve already told you our terms—we won’t break our word, so don’t worry.”

Zhao Su smiled. “Staff Officer, I trust you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come to Guanzhong to rally the followers of the Celestial Masters on your word alone. Now that things have come this far, shouldn’t you meet with the Celestial Masters?”

“Of course.” Wei Ba thought a moment. “I intend not only to meet the Celestial Masters, but anyone willing to collaborate—whether originally from Hanzhong or Guanzhong.”

Zhao Su’s eyes flickered, about to speak, but Wei Ba continued, “Guanzhong, known as the Eight Hundred Li of Qin’s Plain, could accommodate the entire Hanzhong moved in without issue. What we lack now isn’t land, but people. If we can unite with Guanzhong’s local powers, it will help stabilize the region quickly. Only after Guanzhong is stable can we firmly establish ourselves and reap benefits.”

Zhao Su, caught off guard, smiled sheepishly. “Staff Officer, your insight is profound. I was shortsighted, my thoughts were limited.”

“Hahaha, don’t be modest. I know your abilities. The emperor will one day establish his capital in Guanzhong; you will surely be indispensable as the Prefect of Jingzhao.”

Hearing this, Zhao Su’s face brightened. He had come all the way from Hanzhong to Guanzhong hoping for greater gain. Though he was devout in faith and cared little for wealth, the Zhao family in Hanzhong desperately needed worldly riches. His sharp-eyed grandfather was willing to risk more descendants in gambling for these gains. Now that all he hoped for was within reach, even someone as indifferent to power as Zhao Su felt a stirring of ambition, invigorating him in all his endeavors.

Zhao Su then summoned Zhang Wen. Wei Ba exchanged a brief conversation with him, reiterating the promise given to Zhao Su: if Zhang Wen could mobilize the Celestial Masters’ followers in Guanzhong to help hold the region, the Celestial Masters could openly preach there, and Zhang Wen himself could become the leading Grand Sacrificer of Guanzhong, possibly even the true leader of the Celestial Masters after Zhang Lu.

With Wei Ba’s personal commitment, Zhang Wen finally exhaled in relief. Though Wei Ba was only a minor Staff Officer in the Prime Minister’s Office, his clever stratagem had swiftly captured Meiwufu. Meanwhile, Zhuge Liang’s main forces were locked in fierce battle with Guo Huai’s Wei troops in Longyou, and the Wei forces in Guanzhong were utterly defeated. The Shu generals commanding here were Wei Ba’s own father, General Wei Yan, and Wei Ba’s mentor, General Zhao Yun. Soon, Guanzhong would be firmly under their control.

Zhang Wen thanked him profusely before departing. Wei Ba felt relieved and began contemplating the next moves. With his father and master pressing from two sides, the five thousand Wei troops at Baoxie Pass stood no chance of turning the tide. Having secured Meiwufu, the only remaining stronghold in Guanzhong was Chang’an. Xiahou Mao’s unexpected flight suggested he would head to Chang’an, which still held two thousand elite troops and a formidable city wall. A direct assault would be costly and time-consuming—not an ideal choice. How to capture Chang’an swiftly became Wei Ba’s pressing concern.

There was one other matter... rescuing Peng Xiaoyu, imprisoned in the dungeon by Xiahou Hui.

At the thought of Peng Xiaoyu, Wei Ba’s emotions grew complicated. Xiahou Hui’s words were not entirely unfounded—keeping Peng Xiaoyu close in Chang’an was indeed a means of cover. Wei Ba valued her as a trusted confidante, but ultimately only as a shield to mask his own plans.

Things had gone almost as he intended, except he hadn’t anticipated Peng Xiaoyu would be so quickly exposed by Xiahou Hui, arrested, and subjected to harsh interrogation, nearly jeopardizing his grand scheme. As for Xiahou Hui’s claim that Peng Xiaoyu had revealed Wei Ba’s true identity, Wei Ba did not believe it—not only because he knew Peng Xiaoyu was unaware of his feigned surrender, but also because Xiahou Hui’s behavior suggested otherwise. If she had truly betrayed him, Xiahou Hui would have arrested him outright without the need for probing.

To put it bluntly, Peng Xiaoyu was but the empty shell Wei Ba’s golden cicada might shed—a mere pawn, no more significant than the furnishings he had arranged. Her life or death was never truly his concern. Yet, for some reason, hearing of her imprisonment troubled him, almost unnerved him, to the point he nearly lost his composure and uttered bitter words of retribution to Xiahou Hui. If Xiahou Hui had not been equally unsettled, and if Xiahou Mao had not already been bewitched beyond reason, Wei Ba might have revealed even more.

Now that Xiahou Hui was his captive, fate seemed to confirm those harsh words about retribution. Still, Wei Ba was unwilling to halt here. Even knowing an assault on Chang’an might be unwise, he could not calmly abandon the idea as he wished.

But how could he capture Chang’an and rescue her? (To be continued)